Weather stripping



March 9, 1954 JACOBSQN 2,671,252

WEATHER STRIPPING Filed April 7, 1949 \NVENTOR TTORNEY Patented Mar. 9, 1954 UNITED TENT OFFICE WEATHER STRIPPENG Application April 7, 1949, Serial No. 86,041

3 Claims.

door, the latch mechanism, the hinges, and related parts must all be so designed that they cooperate to prevent the undue passage of heat and thereby maintain the efiiciency of the entire unit. At this date, the most useful field for this invention appears to be in connection with refrigerators. Here, the cost of operation of these units directly reflects the degree to which the interior of the box is insulated from the room temperature outside.

In connection with refrigerators, an added problem is encountered which has proved to be more difficult of solution than the mere insulation of the various components of the box from the transmission of heat along these members. When a latch mechanism is mounted within a hollow door, it is the conventional practice to provide a cut out in the inner panel of the door for the projecting members of the latch mechanism. These members cooperate with a suitable member or keeper fixed with respect to the body of the refrigerator. The point at which the latch mechanism projects through the out out in the inner panel of the door is a source of considerable diificulty. It is possible for air to accumulate within the door which is of an entirely different temperature than that of the interior of the refrigerator. Changes in temperature as the door is opened and closed for varying eriods of time create a tendency for the air entrapped within the door to change its volume and to, in effect, pump air into and out of the door. Since the air which may find its way into the door from the warm room outside has a considerably greater moisture content measured in terms of Weight per pound of air than has the cold air which has been under the influence of the coils of the box for some time, it follows that the air passing from the door into the box will gradually lose its moisture as the temperature is decreased. This moisture is precipitated upon the colder surfaces of the box and forms water on the bottom or ice around the coils.

In addition to the air which is pumped by the door due to the changes in door temperature, it must be remembered that whenever the door is opened a quantity of cold air in the refrigerator is replaced by the Warm air of the room. As this air is cooled, a reduction in volume takes place tending to create a vacuum and urge air in from the room through any openings in the door such as screw holes, latch cut-outs, and so forth. This air has the moisture content referred to above and causes the same condensation problems.

The principal concern of the present invention is the provision of means which prevent the flow of air from the interior of the refrigerator door to the storage space of the unit by way of the out out in the door for the latch mechanism. This effect is accomplished by establishing an isolated space in which the components of the latch mechanism operate when the door is in closed position. This isolated space surrounds the fixed latch member attached to the body of the refrigerator, and also isolates the cut out in the inner panel of the door from any possible communication with the storage space. The formation of this isolated space is preferably accomplished by the provision of a gasket which completely surrounds the various latch components noted above, and is interposed between the two closing surfaces provided by the body of the container and by the inner panel of the door. As the door is forced to closed position by the action of the latch mechanism, the engagement with this portion of the gasket system establishes an isolated space referred to above.

In order to prevent the transmission of heat along the various members of the latch mechanism to the less insulated portions of the door, means are provided for interposing an insulated member between the keeper and the body portion of the refrigerator. In this manner, it is possible to achieve the structural benefits of the use of metal members throughout the latch mechanism. In addition to this arrangement, this invention is shown and described herein in its preferred form in which the closing surfaces on the door and on the body portion of the refrigerator are parallel and require no special construction or auxiliary equipment in order to perform their function. In this connection a particular type of latch mechanism is illustrated which is specially adaptable for cooperation with the insulating features of the present invention.

The various features of the present invention will be discussed in detail by an analysis of the 3 particular embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a refrigerator door and its associated latch mechanism, with the components in locked position.

Figure 2 is a section similar to that indicated in Figure l, but with the components in the unlocked position and the door of the refrigerator slightly ajar.

Figure 3 is a view taken toward the door of the refrigerator and showing the general lay-out of the special gasket which serves to form the isolated space for the action of the latch mechanism.

Figure 4 is a perspective View of the keeper member.

Referring to Figure 1, the body portion of the refrigerator is noted at the numeral l and the door at H. The door I! is provided with an inner panel 12 having a cutout it through which the bolt M projects. A member 31 i preferably fitted in the cutout is having the general effect of reducing the size of the cutout. The member 31 can be removed for access to the latch mechanism for servicing. The bolt is i positioned by the action of the latch mechanism generally indicated at (5. This mechanism is inserted in the door through the cutout H5 in the outer panel l1, and is secured in position by the action of the screws 18 passing through the inner panel of the door into the housing of the latch mechanism 15. The operation of the handle [9 causes the toggle system of the latch mechanism to position the bolt 14 to effect the release thereof from cooperating relationship with the keeper member 20. A latch mechanism having the general characteristics as far as the toggle action is concerned is noted in my co-pending application, Serial No. 78,576. This application was filed on February 26, 1949, and is entitled Latch Mechanism. It must be noted that the trigger mechanism for causing the bolt to assume a looking position when the door is closed is different in the present application from that in the above application. The manner of causing the bolt to snap to locked position when the door is closed will be described hereinafter.

The keeper member utilized in the preferred form of the present invention is best illustrated in Figure 4. This member comprises the base portion 2! provided with the mounting holes 22 and 23. These holes are elongated in order to permit a lateral adjustment of the keeper member so as to obtain the best position relative to the latch mechanism I5. As the bolt I l-approaches the keeper member as the door i swung shut, the engaging roller 24 make contact with the slanted surface 25 urging the bolt in a clockwise direction about its fulcrum point 26. As this action proceeds, a point is reached in which the toggle mechanism which serves to position the bolt asses over center and forces the bolt into the locked position shown in Figure 1. Due to this action, the slanted surface 25 may be appropriately referred to as a trigger surface in order to distinguish it from the other parts .of the keeper member which will be further discussed.

It frequently happens in the case of latch mechanisms having a so-called cocking action, that the mechanism may become accidentally tripped while the door is in the open position. It is of course possible to actuate the handle and thus restore the mechanism to the cocked position; but it is often the case that the user is unaware of this situation. To remedy this and provide a very simple keeper member readily adaptable to the establishment of an isolated area surrounding it, the present invention provides a second slanted surface or "recocking surface 27 so disposed that the engaging roller 24 will bear against it as the door is swung shut if the latch mechanism is then in an uncooked position. As the door proceeds to the closed position, the roller 24 follows along the slanted surface 21 to the point where it can pass around the retaining horn 28 which provides the fixed anchoring point for the transmission of locking forces.

In the preferred form of the present invention, the keeper member is thermally isolated from the conducting portions of the box by a mounting arrangement in which insulating material is interposed between the metal of the base 2| and other portions of the body ill of the refrigerator. The preferred arrangement for accomplishing this is shown in Figure 2, in which the screws 29 cooperate with the elongated holes 22 and 23 in the base of the keeper member, and are retained by threaded engagement with an 1nsulating block 3%. This block is attached to a suitable structure in the body of the refrigerator in such a manner that the stresses generated in the locking action can be adequately transmitted without deformation of the various surfaces involved. Insulation members are placed between the base 2| and the body I ll as indicated at 3011.

A cursory examination of the mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 2 will indicate that a very com pact and centrally located group of members are provided which are fitted into a minimum of space. This construction is readily adaptable for the use of the isolating gasket 3! fastened to the door of the refrigerator and interposed between the closing surfaces 32 (on the door) and 33 (on the refrigerator). When the door I is in closed position, the presence of the isolating gasket 3| provides a space 34 which does not communicate with the interior of the refrigerator defined by the wall 35 and the inner panel of the door i 2. Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that the gasket 3i completely surrounds the area occupied by the latch mechanism, and is preferably separate from the principal sealing gasket 36 which serves to prevent the passage of air between the door and the body portion of the refrigerator.

The particular embodiments of the present invention which have been shown in the accompanying drawings and described herein are for illustrative purposes only. These illustrations are not to be considered as limitations upon the scope of the appended claims. It is the intent of the inventor to claim the entire scope of the invention to which he is entitled in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A cabinet structure comprising a jamb defining an opening, a door adapted to abut said jamb and cover said opening, said door and jamb having cooperating surfaces in opposed adjacency when said door covers said opening, said door containing a cutout portion penetrating its said surface having a small perimeter relative to that of said opening, fastening means projecting through said cutout for holding said door adjacent said jamb, and continuous gasket means secured to one of said surfaces for engagement with the other and closely surrounding said out-- out exclusively of said opening when said door covers said opening defining an isolated space for Number Name Date said fastening means. 1,8 3,560 Ekman Aug. 23, 1932 2. A cabinet structure as set forth in claim 1 1,989,158 Seeger et al Jan. 29, 1935 wherein said gasket is carried by said door. 2,001,740 McPherson May 21, 1935 3. A cabinet structure as set forth in claim 1 5 ,05 ,608 Munters Dec. 29, 1936 wherein a second gasket is secured to one of said ,193,338 Peltier Apr. 30, 1940 surfaces and surrounds the first said gasket and ,949 Kucher July 1, 1941 said opening. ,6 King Jan. 23, 1942 EDWIN JACOBSO-N, 2,309,001 Nave et a1. Jan. 19, 1943 10 2,359,150 Peglow Sept. 26, 1944 2,469,113 Hooker May 3, 1949 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,327,965 Rotter Jan. 13, 1920 15 

